Bulletstorm Review

Developer People Can Fly and Epic Games has stormed into 2011 with a new kick-butt first person shooter IP that places the purest essence of fun back into the shooter genre.

For the duration of 7 acts played across the lethal planet of Stygia, Bulletstorm comes at you with over-the-top gunplay and set pieces that will have you sometimes looking for your jaw. Games like Bulletstorm are a refreshing reminder of why we play games in the first place, we simply want to have fun.

Placed in the role of the quick witted space pirate named Grayson Hunt along with your lifetime battle comrade Ishi Sato, who befalls some rather unfortunate yet useful gameplay biological changes, the both you crash land on planet Stygia, a place I probably wouldn’t recommend my worst enemy for their next vacation and yet this is where all the fun begins.

As bit of a backdrop to the story, while members of team Dead Echo, your teams job was to extinguish all so called “marked individuals” for unspoken crimes which your team willing performs. Nevertheless, upon realizing the truth behind your actions, you are now hell-bent on seeking your much desired revenge on those in charge, General Sarrano (this guys is certainly a piece of work).

As you initially begin to tackle Bulletstorm, you may not be as enamored by the games visuals presentation however, once the game begins to introduce it’s ambition and more eye-popping level designs, you begin to appreciating all that Bulletstorm has to offer. Utilizing the Unreal Engine 3.5, the game oozes with heavy influence from the acclaimed Gears of War franchise. Being labeled as the first cousin to Gears of War yet without the popular cover system and placed in a first person shooter setting, Bulletstorm is it’s own experience like no other shooter on the market.

With an arsenal that gradually turns you into an one man army, the Bulletstorm gunplay experience is centered around what is known as skillshots. Utilizing the environment and different weapons for various scenarios, players are able to execute some chaotic and unforgettable death maneuvers that only gets better as you become a more skilled killer. Whether kicking enemies into spiked walls, trapping enemies with explosive chains or impaling multiple enemies with rotating rounds, it never gets old killing with style.

Adding to the your arsenal early on Grayson Hunt is equipped with a confederate energy leash allowing him the ability to pull enemies towards him giving him multiple ways of taking out the enemy. During later acts when the sniper rifle is introduced, developer People Can Fly takes the Heavenly Sword influence of bullet time to mix up the action quite a bit.

While Bulletstorm offers a fun time performing explosive GANG BANGS and VOODOO kills, we found that traversing from level to level listening to the witty one-liners of Grayson Hunt as he deals with his new cyborg sidekick Ishi can be an hilarious time if you actually pay attention to what’s being said.

Ultimately the goal in Bulletstorm is kill everyone and everything in your path as you race to escape this lethal and hellish planet. But as you guessed it, there is always something interfering with your plans. Regardless the campaign is surprisingly a great ride. Why do I say surprisingly? Well, going into Bulletstorm, I had this unspoken idea in my head that the game would be too arcadey, whatever that means. However, as I mentioned before, this game is refreshing and fun from beginning to the explosive end.

After you’ve completed the campaign more gameplay awaits in Echoes mode which is Bulletstorms form of horde mode where you’re on the clock and enemies are thrown at you randomly. While Echoes is fun at times in the end it only feels like a quick add on to tie you over for a short while. There is also the ability to play through the campaign cooperatively but unfortunately there is no online leaderboard to add more variety to this experience.

In conclusion, despite the games inability to keep your attention long after you’ve conquered the campaign, Bulletstorm as it’s name insists is an element of fun that is a joy to play. With a conclusion that strongly hints at a sequel, our fingers are definitely crossed in hopes of another run with Grayson Hunt and his crass verbal assaults. If you want to have crazy fun buy Bulletstorm, you will not be disappointed.

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